patois

/pæˈtwɑ/

/ˈpætwɑ/

The noun patois describes the way you talk, like the patois of New Englanders who tend to drop the letter r: "Drive yah cah to Hahvahd Yahd," while others say, "Drive your car to Harvard Yard."

Patois, which rhymes with "voilà," is speech used in a particular region, profession, or group. It is a French word that originated as "rough speech." Examples of patois are found in every region of the world, but perhaps the most famous is Jamaican. "Ah wha dat yuh ah luok pan?," is Jamaican patois for, "What’s that you’re looking at?" Patois is also the "jargon" or "lingo" used by a group, such as musicians whose patois is lost on non-musicians.

Definitions of patois

1. noun

   a regional dialect of a language (especially French); usually considered substandard
   type of:

   accent, dialect, idiom

   the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people
2. noun

   a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)
   synonyms: argot, cant, jargon, lingo, slang, vernacular

   types:

   street name

   slang for something (especially for an illegal drug)

   rhyming slang

   slang that replaces words with rhyming words or expressions and then typically omits the rhyming component

   type of:

   non-standard speech

   speech that differs from the usual accepted, easily recognizable speech of native adult members of a speech community